No More Butts...The Beginning..

[FallenAngel]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

K9Lover;1445623 wrote: Thanks for checking on me Fallen! Frankly, I'm scared of letting you down, so this should be it :H

:h:h

Yep,.... FEAR has been known to be quite the motivator! :H:H:H

[Guitarista]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

C'mon Niner, eat yer spinach!

Congratulations on day 4.

Hi FA!

[FallenAngel]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

A warm hello back to Mr. G!

Wow... day 5 for you K9!
The good news is the nicotine has been out of your body for a few days now (takes about 72 hours) & you can see your 1st full week on the horizon! That's something to be very proud of!

The not so good news is, now that your body is rid of the nicotine, you're probably starting to feel on edge & cranky. I remember my 5th day..... it was the most challenging day of my entire quit. It was the first day I spent alone since I stopped smoking, and I had all kinds of opportunity to smoke that day. I literally "grounded" myself, I had to stay on my property where there were no smokes. I even added a little clause to that promise that I couldn't go near the sidewalk to possibly bum a smoke from passersby! :H As silly as that sounds... it worked. I gave myself permission to do anything but smoke that day. Better choices would have been to sleep, chill out: but no.... I decided to fix some things. By mid afternoon I was so frustrated, had f*cked up everything I had tried to repair... I finally lost it. Let out such a loud primal scream in the basement, I'm sure half the neighborhood heard! :H Another primal scream cuz it felt so good... and then the tears came. By the end of the day, I was a total wreck... but, I got through it without smoking. That was my turning point. I knew I could win this battle.... One Day At a Time.

The weekend is coming up, which can be tough for many of us. Have a good plan set up in advance for yourself. Write down some things you can do if the urge to smoke arises. Keep a glass of ice bits close by... crunching on them works well for cravings. Snack on carrot sticks, or have some sugar-free suckers/hard candy on hand. Some people suck on cinnamon sticks. Have a plan of something to do immediately if the thought of smoking enters your mind... it can be anything from picking up a book & reading for a few minutes, to getting down on the floor & doing a couple of sets of sit-ups/push-ups, or even taking a walk around the block. (If you choose walking, make sure you DO NOT walk by any place that you can get smokes). It doesn't matter what you choose to do, what is important is that you have a plan before the moment happens. The brain won't be thinking straight at that moment, so you need some to have some positive form of action that you can do on "auto-pilot".

Many people find a quit meter is very motivational. I sure did. It saved my quit numerous times. Here's a link to downloading one:
Quit Meter - Stop smoking; tools, support and chat

You've got your first week milestone coming up... that will certainly be a day to celebrate!

[K9Lover]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

Thank you so much AF! I will definitely put to use the suggestions you have given. 2 weeks ago I made it to 7 days and I can't even remember why I caved. All I know is that this time I am just going to plug along. I think about it less and less. The hardest time of day is in the morning, but I've gotten through it. So...here I go:

DAY 5

[NewOne]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

You know, I used to be a major sugar freak. Quitting it was the absolutely hardest thing I have ever done. Way harder than alcohol.

Every time I fell off the wagon, I just got back on. That's all you can do man.

I think that is why I am saving my Rational Recovery book. For the smoking. Just the bullets themselves that I found on the web helped with the al switch being flipped. I'm hoping the book works with the smokes. I did the Alan Carr book years ago. No switch flipped for me.

I want to jog again one of these days. That would be my incentive.

Onward Soldiers! Collective energy does help so I will add mine to the mix.

[K9Lover]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

I'm glad you're here NewOne! The more people the better! For a while I was the only one posting in this thread...then Fallen came and has been my steady cheerleader! Thank you to Nicey and G-Man for your words too!

[NewOne]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

I'm checking in on you today. Collective energy reporting for duty. Ever hear the term "two or more in my name"?? I think it is one of the hidden universaL clues.

[iknowicandoit]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

Once I feel comfortable not drinking smokes are next. When I quit drinking the last time I quit smoking also but I was so sick in the hospital with pneumonia it didn't matter. One bad habit at a time. Someone said you will be so offended by smoke afterwards.I always have been I have never smoked in my house I hate that stale smell. Worse smell is one of those bars that smell like stale smoke and spilled beer. Gross.

[FallenAngel]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

iknowicandoit;1446911 wrote: Once I feel comfortable not drinking smokes are next. When I quit drinking the last time I quit smoking also but I was so sick in the hospital with pneumonia it didn't matter. One bad habit at a time. Someone said you will be so offended by smoke afterwards.I always have been I have never smoked in my house I hate that stale smell. Worse smell is one of those bars that smell like stale smoke and spilled beer. Gross.

Planting the seed of quitting is the first step! You will know when you're ready.
I can't stand the smell of smoke, and it's amazing how far away I can detect it! And to think that's what I used to smell like. :yuk:

[NewOne]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

Okay, so tomorrow is the beginning of "the plan". I am a very heavy smoker. (emphasis on the very). I smoke pretty much constantly.

My plan is to only smoke one pack a day this week. Then 1/2 pack next week. Stay at 1/2 a pack until I have lost my mind.

I'll decide then if I want to totally quit or continue to torture myself.

[K9Lover]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

DAY 7

We're here for you Newone!

[nicelife]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

Yey!!!!!!!

[FallenAngel]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

Congratulations on your 1st week milestone K9! I hope you do something nice to reward yourself for a job well done. :goodjob:
(Planned rewards can be a good motivational tool).

NewOne;1447518 wrote: Okay, so tomorrow is the beginning of "the plan". I am a very heavy smoker. (emphasis on the very). I smoke pretty much constantly.

My plan is to only smoke one pack a day this week. Then 1/2 pack next week. Stay at 1/2 a pack until I have lost my mind.

I'll decide then if I want to totally quit or continue to torture myself.

It's great that you have a plan in place NewOne.... and it sounds like a good one. I have a friend who cut back similar to what you plan to do, and it worked quite well. They got down to 3-4 smokes a day, stayed at that level for quite some time, and then after many months, gave them up entirely. Keep a positive attitude.... focus on the good things that you're doing for yourself, not what you're giving up.

[FallenAngel]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

NewOne;1447518 wrote: Okay, so tomorrow is the beginning of "the plan". I am a very heavy smoker. (emphasis on the very). I smoke pretty much constantly.

My plan is to only smoke one pack a day this week. Then 1/2 pack next week. Stay at 1/2 a pack until I have lost my mind.

I'll decide then if I want to totally quit or continue to torture myself.

Not sure if this is something you want to try, but it worked great for that friend I was helping.
I will put it into the plan that you have set out:
You have decided to start out by cutting back to 1 pack per day. I'm assuming you probably buy multiple packs or a carton at a time. Each day bring out one new pack. This will be a real cut-back for you, so you need to come up with a plan of how you will ration them out for the entire day. This will help the body to start readjusting to the frequency of getting its nicotine fix. As you progress at the 1 pack per day, you might find that you will have some left over at the end of the day. That will be your 2nd victory! (Your 1st one will be at staying at 1 pack/day). Celebrate this success! When you start having leftovers, you do not add them into your next day quota, you instead put them in a special container. At the end of the week, whatever amount of cigarettes are in that container will be another reason to celebrate! Your next goal can be to improve on how many "leftovers" you have in the following weeks. It's important to celebrate your victories, small & large. Visual ones are even more effective. When you progress to 1/2 a pack/day, count that amount out each day & put them in a designated cigarette case. Having more than your daily limit in easy reach can be too tempting. Count them out & stick to your limit. When you do this, you're sticking with your plan & you can celebrate every day as a success to your final goal!

[NewOne]

No More Butts...The Beginning..

I can save the leftovers & pay myself 10.00 for each one. Then buy myself the most expensive & brightest red cowboy boots known to (wo)man.